G.I. Pink (1968) User Reviews

Predictable, But Still Funny

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 29 April 2007]

The Pink Panther in the Army? Yup, it's true, and he's a one-man disaster as you might guess.

After seeing a recruiting billboard, the Panther signs up and soon we see him being barked at by the "little white man" drill sergeant. You just know that guy is going to be the foil here, and he is - in a big way. That poor sergeant gets shot and blasted so many times, I lost count. He also gets thrown in the guard house and is beaten several times. All of this is because of the Panther's typical inadvertent blunders.

However, in no place does the poor man suffer more than in the obstacle course! That, the grenade practice and the mine fields all made for good slapstick laughs. A fun cartoon overall.

The one with Pinky as an army recruit

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 18 August 2013]

Without being one of the best of the Pink Panther series, G.I. Pink still delivers the goods. It is predictable story-wise and there is little surprise at how things are going to turn out. It is still very funny stuff though, on-screen and off-screen, especially with the grenades and the mines. Though the bull-dog does bag the very best moments. Predictable the story may be, dull it isn't, the pace is efficient and keeps one interested throughout. As ever, the animation is kept simple stylistically but it's also very well drawn and the colours are pretty, very much-improved over the animation in the previous cartoon Put-Put, Pink(the animation was rather simplistic in that one). The music is catchy and distinctively jazzy, with the theme tune still having its infectious staying power. It matches well with what's going on and doesn't slow the cartoon down, the orchestration as always is appropriate and appealing. Pinky is cool, likable and funny as you'd expect, the Little White Guy is a good foil and boss and you sympathise with him and the bull-dog is a great character too. Overall, a very good and funny cartoon though not one that leaps out as one of the best of the ever entertaining Pink Panther series. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The Pink Panther enlists-with obvious consequences!

[llltdesq · 9/10 · 15 September 2006]

This is an exceptionally funny short where the Pink Panther does for the Army and his Sargeant ("The Little White Guy") what Gomer Pyle did for the Marines and Sargeant Carter. I'm going to go into some detail in this comment, so this is your spoiler warning:

The scene is set when the Pink Panther sees a recruiting poster and decides to join the Army. At boot camp, enter "The little White Guy" as a basic training instructor. He takes one look at our stalwart hero and hands him a broom instead of a rifle, which was a wise decision. The Pink Panther makes for a less than exemplary soldier.

Before long, the Sargeant decides that he wants to get rid of the worst recruit he has and tries a number of different ways-land-mines, a grenade, an obstacle course, et cetera-which all naturally backfire on him without so much as breaking one of the Panther's toenails. The funniest part of the short revolves around the camp mascot, a large, rather ill-tempered (though not without cause) bulldog which takes a pronounced dislike to the Sargeant.

The funniest gag, hands down, mostly takes place off-screen. The obstacle course the Sargeant sets up for the Pink Panther to run is shown briefly in all its painful and potentially deadly glory. The pistol he fires as a signal to the Panther to start running unfortunately happens to be pointed at the dog when he pulls the trigger. The little guy runs headlong into the course, while the dog (sensibly) stops. The sound effects used to indicate the run through various obstacles are perfect and hysterically funny. This is repeated, of course, when he comes out at the other side only to have the bulldog "greet" him and he runs back the way he came.

The close of the cartoon has the Pink Panther winding up shipped to the Navy and coming back in Navy whites and the Sargeant deciding that a change of scenery (and branches of service) is an excellent idea.

This short is on the Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection and is well worth watching. Most recommended.

Private Panther!

[OllieSuave-007 · 8/10 · 21 September 2016]

The Pink Panther joins the U.S. Army and goes to boot camp, where he makes work life crazy for the pointy-nosed man, who is the drill sergeant. From causing rifles to blow up in his face to making the mascot dog chase after him, the Pink Panther does about makes life miserable for the sergeant. So, he plots on trying to get rid of him, even going as far as mailing the Pink Panther to the U.S. Navy.

Some laughable moments here, though some of the scenes are fairly predictable. Plenty of gags and slapstick humor and nice seeing the Pink Panther serving his country!

Grade B+

No one should view archival footage in a vacuum . . .

[pixrox1 · 8/10 · 22 December 2022]

. . . and G. I. PINK certainly proves this rule. The crucial fact about this picture was that it was released in 1968, just as America's Vietnam War was really ramping up with the embarrassing surprise of the Tet Offensive and related scandals. For instance, on March 16--six weeks before G. I. PINK's release--U. S. Army perpetrators murdered 347 random villagers, including many young tykes and babies, in one of the most infamous war crimes of All Time. The Army tried to cover this up, just as they attempted to suppress the amount of U. S. taxpayer dollars they spent on the nefarious underhanded recruitment film, G. I. PINK. Which just goes to show that not all "product placement" is harmless.